Rei Tantei Uzumaki Naruto
by Janus Tenshin
Summary: General AU to the VotE fight where Naruto dies. I’m borrowing from the Naruto, and Yu Yu Hakusho verse definitely, maybe a few others later if I feel like it. Pairings undecided. Kind of borrowed from Mandalorian Jedi. Rated M just in case.
1. Death of a Hero

Rei Tantei Naruto Uzumaki

Rei Tantei Naruto Uzumaki

General AU to the VotE fight where Naruto dies. I'm borrowing from the Naruto, and Yu Yu Hakusho verse definitely, maybe a few others later if I feel like it.

(A/N): I own nothing. Not even the computer I am writing this on. I claim to own nothing and you will not get anything from a lawsuit so just leave me alone please.

Also, I know NO Japanese so if I mistranslate, then calmly send me a review with corrections. If I leave it as the English spelling that means that I don't know how to spell it. Either send me an accurate spelling or get off my case. While I would love to learn Japanese, I am not very good with languages and I do not have time to learn since I am in college. Cry about it.

(End A/N)

Chapter 1 --Death of a Hero--

We start this story, just like any other, with the introduction of our hero. Naruto. But it seems like there is a problem with that. See our hero is dead.

This day, for Naruto at least, had gotten seriously bad as it had progressed. Naruto, the newly appointed chuunin Shikamaru, and a few other genin had been deployed by the Godiame Hokage Tsunade in an attempt to retrieve the run away or captured Sasuke Uchiha, whatever the case may be.

Each of the members of the Retrieval Team had broken off to fight members of Orochimaru's Oto Four. Naruto hoped that they were alright, but he had other problems.

Naruto was currently staring at his best friend across the way. Both were beat and breathing heavily.

Sasuke was paler than normal, heavily under the influence of Orochimaru's Heaven Seal with large wings coming out of his back and a 3 tomoe Sharingan instead of his normal 2 tomoes.

Naruto on the other hand was covered with red chakra, with extended claws and an all around more feral look to him. Around him was one tail made of chakra.

It had been a brutal battle, but both were locked on to the other. They knew, this last strike would be the end. Life and death or merely victory and defeat, this final blow would decide everything.

Naruto knew Sasuke was not all there. Sasuke had already tried to kill him numerous times and he had only survived through the Kyuubi's healing. But Naruto, despite that fact could not let go of the fact that he really wanted to fight Sasuke. The fight had gone far beyond what he had thought. With a Rasengan in his hand, and a Chidori in Sasuke's, Naruto came to the realization that the fight was going to end with one final blow, and he couldn't help but call out to his friend.

"Sasuke please, I just want you to come home; back to Konoha with us. I don't want to have to fight you anymore."

"Naruto….. if you do not fight me the I will kill you where you stand! I will get the power I need to kill my brother, and if it means killing my best friend to obtain Mangekyo or giving up my village and become a missing nin with Orochimaru, then that is what I will do!"

And with that both boys leapt off their statues, not noticing their sensei arrive too late to stop anything.

To all parties involved, the two combatants and their spectator, the moment seemed to last forever.

Within the confines of Naruto's youki clouded mind, the human part of Naruto's consciousness cleared it's mind enough to regain control to find itself on a intercept course to end his best friend's life. And in an incalculably small portion of a second, Naruto saw two possibilities of what could happen. He was already poised with the destructive ball of chakra to obliterate Sasuke's chest and midriff, much as he had done with Kabuto, and was going just fast enough to be within Sasuke's guard and Chidori before the Sharingan user could move his assassination technique into position to attack him. And unlike Kabuto, he knew Sasuke didn't have a healing bloodline. The only other option that he could see….. was to redirect the attack away, above his friend's head….. leaving him completely open for Sasuke to do any attack he pleased.

And in that moment, he decided he couldn't do it.

A fully developed Sharingan predicts the movement of it's opponent by reading the chakra that is produced and used within the body. And though he realized that he would have been too slow to counter Naruto's killing blow, Sasuke's eyes showed his target's arm raise and back straighten, presenting him with a perfectly set up target.

He didn't stop.

Naruto's body stopped it's forward path as it came in contact with Sasuke's left arm, which was supporting the attacking right arm that didn't stop.

Sasuke's eyes memorized and permanently recorded the sight of his right hand going through his best friend's heart and the life leave his eyes 3 seconds later. For another ten and a half seconds nothing happened. Sasuke was in the middle of wondering why his eyes had not evolved to the final phase when the adrenaline and poisoned chakra left his mind enough for him to obtain his first clear thought, "By Kami, what have I done?"

And as his mind finally returned to it's normal state, the implications of what happened set in. He had killed him. He had _killed_ him. His best friend was dead. He had killed Naruto. NARUTO was _DEAD_, because of HIM!!

The first feeling he had was one of disbelief. Naruto couldn't be dead. Certainly not by his hand. Then as the realization came the horror of what he had done set in. He had murdered his own best friend. Destroyed the dearest bond in his lonely and pathetic existence. And finally came despair. The thought that his best friend, the one he had done missions with, competed with, and even had a friendly (and not so friendly) rivalry with was dead was too much as he began to unconsciously cry. And unbeknownst and unnoticed to him, the tomoe in his eyes melted together. He had unlocked the Mangekyo.

Kakashi could not help but to stare as his student killed the other. It wasn't until he saw Sasuke start to silently cry, or fall to his knees that he was startled out of his stare. He immediately ran to his fallen student, frantically looking for _some_ sign that his student was ok. He was half expecting a pop and a plume of smoke that would indicate a Shadow Clone, but none came. There was not breathing and no heart beat; there was just a slow leak of blood coming from his student's back.

He brought his hands up.

"Kai." Nothing happened.

"KAI." He said again, a little more forcefully this time.

"**KAI KAI KAI KAI KAI KAI KAI KAI**……………." But his efforts were all fruitless as nothing changed.

He had lost another teammate.

Sasuke saw his sensei's wild gestures toward his fallen teammate with a sense of detachment. The only thing on his mind was the sight of Naruto's life ending over and over again. He wasn't aware enough to notice anything about his surroundings and never even realized there was an attack coming until he felt his jaw break from his sensei's punch.

"YOU DESPICABLE BASTARD!" Kakashi roared with rage. "HOW DARE YOU…….."

"Kill my teammate," finished Sasuke in a voice that shook. "I don't—don't care about that…… I just killed my best friend……. Kami _why_ did this happen………"

Kakashi fell short at this. He hadn't been expecting a tormented response. No, he was ready to have to fight his traitorous student to bring him to justice, not watch as he just stared at Naruto's body.

Sasuke looked up. "Can… can I carry him back? After that you can do as you want, but please, let me carry him back to be buried." Kakashi looked into his student's still active eyes and nodded. "However, should you do anything funny, I will kill you immediately. Do you understand?" Sasuke nodded, and bent down. He closed Naruto's eyes and gently picked him up.

Both men left with their terrible burden.

Unseen by both men Naruto watched, seemingly hovering 20 feet above them. Or his spirit did at least. He watched in silence until both men had gone until finally he came back to his senses.

"HEY!! Now what happens?!"

A bubbly female voice behind him said, "Why you come with me of course."

"GAH!!" Naruto yelled and whirled around to see a woman with light blue hair floating on an oar. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING BACK THERE? WHO ARE YOU?"

The woman giggled and smiled, "Well it's my job as the pilot of the River Styx to escort dead souls to the other side. But you don't have to call me by any title, just call me Botan!"


	2. Reactions from the Living

Rei Tantei Naruto Uzumaki

Rei Tantei Naruto Uzumaki

General AU to the VotE fight where Naruto dies. I'm borrowing from the Naruto, and Yu Yu Hakusho verse definitely, maybe a few others later if I feel like it.

(A/N): I own nothing. Not even the computer I am writing this on. I claim to own nothing and you will not get anything from a lawsuit so just leave me alone please.

Also, I know NO Japanese so if I mistranslate, then calmly send me a review with corrections. If I leave it as the English spelling that means that I don't know how to spell it. Either send me an accurate spelling or get off my case. While I would love to learn Japanese, I am not very good with languages and I do not have time to learn since I am in college. Cry about it.

(End A/N)

Chapter 2 --Reactions from the Living--

(Previously)

Unseen by both men Naruto watched, seemingly hovering 20 feet above them. Or his spirit did at least. He watched in silence until both men had gone until finally he came back to his senses.

"HEY!! Now what happens?!"

A bubbly female voice behind him said, "Why you come with me of course."

"GAH!!" Naruto yelled and whirled around to see a woman with light blue hair floating on an oar. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING BACK THERE? WHO ARE YOU?"

The woman giggled and smiled, "Well it's my job as the pilot of the River Styx to escort dead souls to the other side. But you don't have to call me by any title, just call me Botan!"

Naruto was confused. Now this wasn't exactly an Earth shattering deal, because it happened all the time, but this time he was really thrown for a loop.

"So I am dead?"

"Yep!"

"And you are here to take me to wherever dead people go?"

"Uh huh."

"So why aren't we gone yet?"

"Don't you want to see what happens until your funeral? Generally people want to see that before they go."

Naruto smiled and said, "Ah, there probably won't be much to see. Kakashi and the rest of the team will show up cause they have to. Iruka would show up and might cry a little but he will be fine. Tsunade is too busy as Hokage. Ero-Sennin will go back to peeking. Team 8, 10, and Gai not only will be too busy, but they don't know me all that well anyway. Konohamaru will find another "Boss" and Teuchi and Ayame may show up later, but other than that, everyone else won't care."

Botan looked sad as she said, "Maybe you should stay around just in case? And even if nothing happens, this way you could still say goodbye to Konoha."

Naruto looked up and nodded in agreement. "That sounds good. Lead the way Botan!"

Sasuke and Kakashi arrived at the village gates some hours later. Sasuke was holding on to Naruto's body like it was his last hope. The guards looked on quietly but summoned ANBU at Kakashi's hand signal once the two were out of sight. Then once disappeared in a puff of smoke to summon the Hokage.

As the 2 Sharingan users walked through town towards the hospital, the villagers watched on in silence as the former Jinchuuriki's body was carried by. Word got around through various shinobi to certain people around Konoha all of whom had different reactions.

The sensei's of Team Gai, 10, and 8 gathered their non-injured students and walked them to the entrance to meet their fallen shinobi and friend. No explanation was given to their teams for why they were being taken away from their injured teammates, but they followed none the less.

Sakura was told by a passing Chuunin that she might want to go to the Shinobi hospital immediately. She couldn't figure out what the look the woman gave her could be.

Shizune paled as she heard the news from the chuunin gate guard. She was in slight shock as she told her master and teacher that the rest of the team was approaching, though she left out the rest of the news as Tsunade was in the process of stabilizing Akimichi Chouji. She preyed that her master wouldn't react as badly as she knew Tsunade was going to do. She then left the room and cried for the death of another person dear to her.

Jiraya was behind bushes at a waterfall and was in the process of pulling out his telescope when a messenger came to him. He shunshined away, forgetting his pencil, telescope, and even his all important notebook.

Umino Iruka was teaching class as he was told. He froze for just a second and then blew through the nearby window with speed no one had seen from the man ever before. Three members of a certain Corp heard the news and followed their sensei, albeit through the door. They all were crying the whole way there.

Various people across Konoha began celebrating but were immediately stopped by other members of their society. Whether or not the boy was a demon was unimportant to them, he had died on a mission for their village and he deserved, if not a quiet respect, then at least some measure of dignity in death in the service to his village.

The sensei's and members of teammates who were injured on the Retrieval Mission were waiting in the lobby, both for word of their injured comrades and for whatever reason their squads were told to meet the last members of Team 7 for. Tsunade walked into the lobby and smiled. "Chouji, Kiba, and Neji are all stable and their prognosis looks good. They should all be at least awake by tomorrow."

As the students of the respective teams relaxed, the sensei's all tensed up, something that did not go unnoticed by the 5th Hokage. Her eyes narrowed as she asked the question, "What?"

No one answered the Slug Sannin. She began again, "What is…" but the sentence died on her lips as the doors to the hospital opened with Kakashi, Sasuke, and Naruto's limp body entering.

For a moment no one spoke and no one moved. Sasuke finally moved and set down his friend's body in the floor. Iruka came flying in right as Sasuke began to speak, "I know that you are going to arrest me, and you are probably going to have me executed for taking his life, but please, I ask to attend his funeral before you carry out my sentence. I cannot express how sorry I am for what I have done."

Nobody moved for a moment until hell broke loose. Tsunade fell to the ground crying without remorse or thought to her image. Sakura and Ino both stood crying in place, their eyes locked on the dead blonde. Shino never moved, but his body was buzzing with the agitated state his hive's reaction to his emotions. Shikamaru looked neither bored nor was he asleep; instead he was solely focused on the person who had confessed and was projecting KI. Hinata… looked unusual compared to normal since she looked like a normal Hyuuga, with a perfectly blank, unreadable expression. However, her Byakugan had unconsciously and unintentionally activated and she was projecting KI at Sasuke as well. Tenten looked on at everything, though she never let her guard down. Iruka was visibly crying with an expression with absolute rage on his face. It took both Kakashi and Asuma to hold back his attempts to kill the Uchiha, though all of the jounin were failing at holding up neutral expressions.

All the while the ghost of Naruto watched in silence.


	3. The Problem with Death is

Rei Tantei Uzumaki Naruto

General AU to the VotE fight where Naruto dies. I'm borrowing from the Naruto, and Yu Yu Hakusho verse definitely, maybe a few others later if I feel like it.

(A/N): I own nothing. Not even the computer I am writing this on. I claim to own nothing and you will not get anything from a lawsuit so just leave me alone please.

Also, I know NO Japanese so if I mistranslate, then calmly send me a review with corrections. If I leave it as the English spelling that means that I don't know how to spell it. Either send me an accurate spelling or get off my case. While I would love to learn Japanese, I am not very good with languages and I do not have time to learn since I am in college. Cry about it.

(End A/N)

--

Chapter 3 --The Problem with Death is….--

(Previously)

All the while the ghost of Naruto watched in silence.

--

After a few minutes order came back to the group. Kakashi spoke to the group, "We will have the service tomorrow. We need to get ready. Take him to the morgue." The sensei's in the room nodded and walked their teams into their teammates' recovery rooms. The news they had when Kiba, Neji, and Chouji woke up would not be pleasant.

Now originally, Team Baki wasn't informed of Naruto's death. To an outsider, they had no direct interest. However, when quiet murmurs around town of the death of "the demon" started Temari started to worry. It wasn't that she wasn't already on edge, being in the village her nation had just invaded and lost to, and being next to Gaara, despite his newfound lack of bloodthirstiness (Kankuro kept insisting that it was a temporary thing.) was worrisome enough. But hearing "death" and "demon" in whispered sentences usually meant someone going after Gaara. And then getting crushed.

She moved over to one group of such gossipers, with her team following slightly, and asked, "What do you mean 'the demon' died?" The conversation stopped slightly as the adults looked at her for a moment and looked around suspiciously. After seeing no one (not that it made a difference in a shinobi village) they said, "Oh well, it doesn't matter now I guess. He is dead after all, and you are foreign anyway. The Uzumaki-gaki was killed…" Was all the man got out before sand engulfed him.

"Uzumaki is dead?" asked Gaara in a quiet voice.

"Yes." Nothing but terror there.

"…"

"Gaa—"

"Temari. Kankuro. We are going to the hospital. Now." The three Sand siblings disappeared, allowing the man to fall to the ground in a pile of sand.

--

Botan watched her mark in silence. He was quiet and contemplative, something that was totally against her file on him. His reaction to Gaara's entrance and demand to see "Uzumaki-san" dead or alive was almost to a normal standard as he smiled widely. When he was about to follow Gaara to the morgue she and Naruto were both interrupted by a child's voice.

"BOTAN!! Where the heck is Naruto?!" Botan and Naruto whirled around to see the image of the face of a toddler in the air. Naruto yelled but Botan cut him off. "What is it sir? I was letting him see-"

"There's no time for that now!" yelled the face. "We need him here right away! He wasn't supposed to have died yet, you know that, but the fact is we can't deal with his death yet!"

"Well why not sir?"

"Kyuubi! Now get him back to Spirit World NOW!"

And with that he faded out. Botan didn't like going back on promises, but it looked like Naruto wasn't going to see his friend's send off.

--

The flight to Spirit World wasn't long, but it gave time for some explanation to Naruto.

"So that is Styx down there? And who was that? Why is he just a kid? Why are you taking orders from him, and why can't I see my funeral? You promised I could!"

"I am sorry Naruto but that is my orders. Yes that is Styx and we are on our way to Spirit World, where people go before they move on to the other side. I am supposed to take you there and your spirit will find it's place in death. That face was Koenma, and even though he looks like he is only a toddler, he is a few thousand years old and the leader of Spirit World, kind of like the Hokage is for Konoha. He has to make sure that Human, Spirit, and Demon realms all are balanced and they never hurt one another."

"Wow he seems pretty important. So I stay in Spirit World? Does that mean I can come visit you?"

"Silly. Spirit World is like the gate desk of your village. You go there to check out of the village, but you don't stay there forever, you move on to the other side. I guess the only difference is that you never check back in. But thanks for asking if you could see me. It's not everyday that someone tries to make friends with the Grim Reaper."

"Oh. So why is it so important that I go back now? He said Kyuubi, but I thought that when I died, the furball died with me?"

"I don't know, but we will have to see Koenma-san to find out."

--

Seeing ogres running around with paper work was really weirding Naruto out, so it made him feel better to get to the huge set of doors that was Koenma's office. They made him kind of nervous though. "Come in Botan, Naruto."

Now Naruto had seen Koenma's face when he projected himself to the real world, but seeing a toddler behind a desk like he had seen the old man was a little too much. So he had to laugh.

"Dangit, why does everyone DO that?" "Well Koenma-san……."

"No I am sorry bebi-san, I just imagined if Hokage-jiji looked as young as you do. HAHAHAHA!!"

Koenma's eye was still twitching, but not as much as he yelled, "I'm not a baby! Oh, whatever! Now sit down we need your help you idiot!"

"HEY! I am not an idiot you little twerp!"

"You ARE an idiot because you died! Do you know how much paper work it is causing me to have Kyuubi running free around Spirit World?"

"WHAT?!" Both Botan and Naruto were now yelling.

"It is true that the seal on your stomach is supposed to intertwine the Kyuubi's spirit with your own by separating the Kyuubi from the immense amount of power that it has. The problem is that you didn't live long enough for it to loose enough strength for us to deal with. If you had lived long enough to make it an 8 tailed demon we would have been able to take care of it, but since it still possesses the ninth tail, its power is still beyond imagining. It's time locked within you has weakened it, making it loose almost 2/3 of its last tail, but we are still not able to deal with it. I even sent Yusuke out and he failed, as tough as he is. The other death pilot's are merely containing the beast now, but that will only hold until he gets that last tail back and then nothing will stop it. I think that only my father might be able to match it here. Maybe. Certainly no one else."

"Y—YUSUKE lost? YUSUKE URAMESHI LOST?!" Botan hadn't seen the man loose in thousands of years.

"That's exactly my point. The only thing to do is to contain it again. And that is where YOU come into play Naruto."

"What do you want me to do? I'm dead and the fox is already loose."

"Koenma! You want to do that with him? It hasn't been done since Yusuke himself!"

"It is the only way. Naruto, how would you like a new lease on life?"


	4. The Deal

Rei Tantei Naruto Uzumaki

General AU to the VotE fight where Naruto dies. I'm borrowing from the Naruto, and Yu Yu Hakusho verse definitely, maybe a few others later if I feel like it.

(A/N): I own nothing. Not even the computer I am writing this on. I claim to own nothing and you will not get anything from a lawsuit so just leave me alone please.

Also, I know NO Japanese so if I mistranslate, then calmly send me a review with corrections. If I leave it as the English spelling that means that I don't know how to spell it. Either send me an accurate spelling or get off my case. While I would love to learn Japanese, I am not very good with languages and I do not have time to learn since I am in college. Cry about it.

(End A/N)

--

(Previously)

"It is the only way. Naruto, how would you like a new lease on life?"

--

Chapter 4 --The Deal--

"So if I get Kyuubi sealed back into me, then I get to go back to life?"

"That is correct, Naruto. We can either seal it back into you, since your body is used to the pressure of youki, but we have to do this quick. All of the Death Pilots are busy containing the thing, and none are guiding spirits to rest. If they don't do it soon, within 24 hours of death, a person's spirit is lost forever. Thankfully no one died until 3 hours after your death, so that means we still have 16 hours to seal it's spirit back to you. After that, they would be free to do their work. But then we actually have to do the process to reattach your body and spirit, and _that _takes some special work. But for now, we need to get Kyuubi re-sealed." Koenma pushed a button on his phone and said, "Get me Minato Namikaze and Sarutobi… yes yes, I know that they are in Limbo becaue of their summoning technique but get them out of there now! That is an order! Hmph!"

A rather hen-pecked looking ogre speaks up from the corner, "Koenma-san you know what it does to your face when you pout…"

"I'M NOT POUTING OGRE!! Ahem. Yes, now Naruto I believe you know the people that will be coming in to help us with this problem, since they were the last 2 Hokages you had, but they were also the best seal masters I have ever seen. I know that you would probably like to talk to them, but time is of the essence here and they should not be disturbed."

"The old man is coming back? But he died and Botan said that Spirits can't come back from Beyond. And I don't even know who that other guy is."

"They were not allowed to pass into the beyond. The technique they performed summoned a Death Pilot directly to Ningenkai, which is against our law. Immortal spirits should not be allowed to be in the Human World unless they are placed in mortal or semi-mortal bodies, it violates the balance of the universe. They were sentenced to Limbo, a place where torture is so painful that each year seems almost like an eternity, for 100 years for violating Spirit World law and summoning a Death Pilot to the Human World. Sarutobi did so in an attempt to kill Orochimaru during the invasion during the Chuunin exams. Minato Namikaze did so in sealing the Kyuubi away in you, since he is more commonly known as your Fourth Hokage…"

"Wait, so this Minato guy is the Fourth and he summoned a Reaper to seal Kyuubi? Why don't you guys just do that now?"

"Well, it isn't that simple Naruto. Kyuubi as you humans know it was bound to a mortal body when he was on Earth... and things work differently there as compared to here. EVERYTHING here is spirit, and since Kyuubi is now all spirit, there is nothing in Spirit World to latch him to, at least nothing powerful enough to hold him. It would be like trying to trap a physical human in a physical object. That object has to be stronger than the human, otherwise the person would break his prison open. When Kyuubi was sealed into you, it was a mixture of sealing a spirit in a spirit and a body, which is MUCH more powerful. In the human world you can merge two spirits together when one of them is first born because a baby spirit is just getting used to the body. Since your spirit and it were in there at the same time, you adjusted to it being there within your body, and the seal took care of it overwhelming your spirit with it's own power. Now, everything here has an adjusted spirit, meaning we can't seal it within our own spirits like you can. The reason that this will work with you is because your spirits are already partially intertwined. All we have to do is finish intertwining you and it, or finish the job enough to take away that blasted ninth tail. There may be some side effects that we don't know about since it is not a natural mixing of your spirits, which would have been much slower, but it won't be anything terrible."

But anyway, as I was saying Minato is the Fourth and he designed the seal on you, so he would be the best person to try and make the new one we would put on you. But I thought you would like to meet him because he just happens to be your father." As Koenma was finishing his last sentence, the door opened and the two men he was speaking about walked in. Naruto blinked twice at Koenma, turned to look at the two men behind him, and blinked once more before Minato spoke up, "Uh, hey son! I guess we've never really met…" But his last comment was all in vain since his son had passed out on the floor.

--

Naruto awoke with the strangest feeling. He was laid out on a floor with a blanket over and under him. He thought he heard a familiar voice, but that couldn't be right. The dream he had about dying couldn't be true, so he rolled over and tried to get some more sleep. Until...

"Wake up sleepy head! It's been a couple of hours, but they say they are almost halfway done!" he knew that voice…

"Botan… just let me sleep… m'tired…" before sitting bolt upright. "Botan! It all wasn't a dream! I really died and … And… Dad… Is it true?"

"Yep! I guess no one had told you before huh?"

"No! Why didn't they? How cool is that? I… well, but… he did seal that damn thing inside me! Why did he…"

"He HAD to Naruto. Much like right now, the thing is just too powerful. He had to seal it within you because you were a newborn and could handle the chakra stress. Not to mention the fact that he probably couldn't bring himself to ask another family to sacrifice their child in such a way. I mean, could you?"

"I…" Naruto thought about it, and came to the conclusion that she was right. "…guess not. Man, who knew that he'd have to make that kind of choice? Your kid or your village?"

"Well Naruto, if you ever do become Hokage, you will have to make those decisions all day, everyday. You will have to send other people out to kill and to die for your town. Protecting everyone is part of the job, but can you handle the other half? Possibly sending other people's children out to their deaths?"

Naruto was stunned. He hadn't really ever thought about it before. Maybe… "Well, I… dunno… I… better think about this. I'll see you around Botan."

"If you are going to wander around, stay in this area of the building. If you start to see ogres running around, you have gone too far ok? We have to go tell your friends not to bury you tonight when they are dreaming tonight, so try to stay close."

Naruto nodded and walked out of the room, leaving Botan to wonder over to the table where the 2 kages and Koenma were arguing over the order of words on the seal.

--

Naruto had been wondering around for quite a while, not paying a bit of attention before he tripped over someone who was laying on the floor.

Both people rolled over and yelled, "Hey what the hell is wrong with you!"

Naruto laid in to the guy, "What are you going sleeping in the middle of the floor! Are you trying to hurt people by tripping them up? Baka!"

The other guy said, "Hey I just got done trying to hold back a 9 tailed demon fox! Lay off man!"

"Pshh… I did that for 12 years before I got killed."

"Liar."

"You know who is lying? YOU saying that you could hold off against Kyuubi. That's total BULL!"

"You want to TAKE THIS OUTSIDE PUNK?"

"Bring it on you green suited hobo!"

"Look who's talking you orange target! No wonder you are dead! People couldn't miss you!"

--

The insults got worse until the pair got into a courtyard. "Alright kid I tell you what. I am only going to use my fists to pound you into the ground. You can use anything you got against me. I'm part demon anyway, so all the stuff you got may scratch me."

"HA! I'd kill you if I went all out with my techniques! Kage bunshin!" Nothing happened.

"BWAHAHAHAHAHA!! Oooo I'm so scared kid! That was the scariest technique I have never seen! HAHAHA!!"

"Hey! My chakra isn't working! If it was I'd…"

"Chakra? As in 'a mix of body and spirit energy,' chakra?"

"Yeah. So?"

"Ha ha, you baka. You don't have a body here. No technique you have is going to work unless you have one that works on purely spirit energy. And don't even think that using fists is going to work. I told you I was part demon by blood and awakening that heritage has made me stronger than any human fists could hurt. Sorry kid."

"Damnit! So what do you mean by techniques that work purely on spirit energy? Is that like a different type of muscle or something?"

"Sigh… yeah. The body makes 2 kinds of energy: body energy, which is your muscles, and spirit energy, which is your knowledge, determination, will, or other parts of your personality. Here, you are all spirit, which means that your intelligence, will power, determination, etcetera make up how strong you are. There are tons of techniques that use only, or mainly spirit energy, but a freshly dead human with no spirit training at all couldn't possibly be able to do it. You wouldn't have used spirit energy on earth all that much, since you would use chakra which is mostly physical energy. And you haven't been here long enough to build it up."

"That's bullshit! I could do any jutsu you throw at me! Show me how to do it, and I will blow you away!"

"Yeah? Alright kid. I tell you what, I will teach you the very first purely spirit technique I learned, and if you get more that a sizzle or a light, and make it strong enough to "punch" someone with, I won't knock you out."

"Alright! Bring it on Yusuke-baka!"

'This kid is calling _me_ an idiot when he forgot he didn't have a body to use techniques with?' "Whatever kid. Now take all of the spirit energy you have in you, it should feel kinda warm, and gather it to the tip of your finger."

Looking down, he tried to summon his energy like his chakra. He felt around within him, which was odd considering that he normally didn't have to look around within him to hit the sea of chakra he held. After a second of searching, he found a small warmth within him. He felt it for a minute and then pulled as much of it as he could to his finger. "Hey look! It's glowing!"

"Now point that finger at your target. It's like shooting that energy in a straight line at whatever you are aiming at. Then when you have it lined up, pull the trigger."

"Trigger? You mean like the part of a trap that sets it off?"

"Well, that wasn't exactly what I had in mind, but the idea is the same. You pull on the part of your spirit control that keeps the energy there, and it will release in one big…"

WHAM!!

"WHAT THE HELL KID?!"

"HAHAHAHA!! I knew I could kick your ass! Man you should have seen the look on your face! I… whew… I feel kinda tired."

Yusuke had certainly felt that. The Spirit Gun hadn't hurt him, hell, his demon blood had extended his life and made him harder to hurt for thousands of years, but even though he had worked in Spirit World a _long_ time, that was the most powerful blast he'd seen out of anyone their first time since… him really. He knew if he had still been human that that blast would have put a huge bruise on him.

"Well kid congratulations, you have learned the Spirit Gun. You are probably tired, since you haven't used pure Spirit Energy before, but that move will really take it out of you. And like I said, if you learned it, I wouldn't knock you out…"

"Ha! As if you could! I am so awesome…"

"But shooting me while I was talking is punishable with a noogie; get over here you brat!"

"AUGH!! Why did you do that?"

"You shot me while I was explaining things to you. Now, I bet that people are looking for you, wouldn't you say?"

"I guess."

"Well, let's go then."

--

(On Earth)

"Orochimaru-sama, you must change bodies now. It is quite apparent that Sasuke is not coming right now. I recommend that you change bodies now and go retrieve him yourself."

"Quiet Kabuto! I realize that he isn't coming and I already am going to change bodies! Now I need your spies to find out something for me while I am recuperating from the change."

"Hai, you want to know where Sasuke-kun is being kept?"

"NO FOOL! Do not presume to know what I am thinking! If they haven't already killed the boy, it is because he made a final request. And I know that it will be the Kyuubi brat's funeral. Find out when it will be and delay if you can."

"You wish to kidnap Sasuke-kun there?"

"Well, not only that, but think of all of those grieving Konoha citizens."

"Orochimaru-sama?"

"Well Kabuto, don't you think that they should be able to say good-bye in a more personal fashion? How about face to face? Kukukuku…"

"Hai, I will prepare your new body and find a sacrifice from our ranks for you as well."

--

A/N:

K, I know some people have questions, suggestions, but I had planned for some of the plot holes you guys have pointed out. Most have been filled this chapter (Dragonbard, the conversation with Koenma should do most of your points.), but I have to wait until next chapter to fill in the rest. I want to thank you guys for pointing out plot holes, but pairings and plotline, I think I have. I have part of a Spirit Detective, Dark Martial Arts, and Sensui (the bad ex-Spirit Detective) Arc planned out, and maybe the pairing. I don't really know all of the details, but mixing the stories is moderately hard.


	5. A Shinobi's Nightly Dreams

Rei Tantei Naruto Uzumaki

General AU to the VotE fight where Naruto dies. I'm borrowing from the Naruto, and Yu Yu Hakusho verse definitely, maybe a few others later if I feel like it.

(A/N): I own nothing. Not even the computer I am writing this on. I claim to own nothing and you will not get anything from a lawsuit so just leave me alone please.

Also, I know NO Japanese so if I mistranslate, then calmly send me a review with corrections. If I leave it as the English spelling that means that I don't know how to spell it. Either send me an accurate spelling or get off my case. While I would love to learn Japanese, I am not very good with languages and I do not have time to learn since I am in college. Cry about it.

I have been absent lately, and I have not updated, but I try occasionally to work on my story. New job will do that to you. Sorry it has been a while.

(End A/N)

--

(Previously)

"Orochimaru-sama, you must change bodies now. It is quite apparent that Sasuke is not coming right now. I recommend that you change bodies now and go retrieve him yourself."

"Quiet Kabuto! I realize that he isn't coming and I already am going to change bodies! Now I need your spies to find out something for me while I am recuperating from the change."

"Hai, you want to know where Sasuke-kun is being kept?"

"NO FOOL! Do not presume to know what I am thinking! If they haven't already killed the boy, it is because he made a final request. And I know that it will be the Kyuubi brat's funeral. Find out when it will be and delay if you can."

"You wish to kidnap Sasuke-kun there?"

"Well, not only that, but think of all of those grieving Konoha citizens."

"Orochimaru-sama?"

"Well Kabuto, don't you think that they should be able to say good-bye in a more personal fashion? How about face to face? Kukukuku…"

"Hai, I will prepare your new body and find a sacrifice from our ranks for you as well."

--

Chapter 5 --A Shinobi's Nightly Dreams--

As Yusuke and Naruto entered back into Koenma's office, Naruto was met with a loaded Botan-missile.

"THERE YOU ARE!! We were so worried! If you had gotten lost, then it would have been a disaster! Who knows where you might have ended up! Oh, hello Yusuke. I see you met Naruto."

"Yeah, the idiot wasn't watching where he was going and tripped over me while I was trying to take a nap out in the hall."

"I WASN'T WATCHING?! I will have…"

"Quiet you idiots!" the Third and Fourth Hokages and Koenma yelled from the table. Silence reigned and the three turned back to their work.

"So Botan, this kid telling the truth? He said he held the power of the Kyuubi for years."

"That's right Yusuke. His body and soul held back the demon for his entire life, with the use of his father's seal."

"Huh, I am an S-ranked demon and that thing was practically stomping me flat. Sure I could get a lucky hit in here or there, but the thing's power would brush all of my obvious attacks away like they were nothing."

"Kyuubi is powerful, but he is still a far cry from his fully powered self. His ninth tail has been partially absorbed and so he is weaker than normal. Had he been at full power, there is no way we could have stopped him. Anyway, Naruto are you ready to go see some people and tell them to hold off burying you? Once the seal is placed on you, we will have to go back to Earth since it will be almost morning there."

"Uh, ok. Why do I have to do that? Even if they bury me, I could Rasengan or Spirit Gun my way out once I wake up, right?"

"Spirit Gun? Yusuke! I am so glad to see you are making friends! You even taught the boy how to do your signature move!"

"Well, I didn't think he would get it at first."

"HA! That's why they call me Konoha's…"

WHAM!!

Three voices yelled out, "WHAT DID WE TELL YOU ABOUT BEING QUIET!?"

"Itai… what is with the hitting?"

Botan giggled. "Oh Naruto, you really need to learn how to be quiet sometimes. And to answer your question Naruto, no you can't. There is a whole process that has to deal with bringing back someone from the dead, and it takes a while. But also someone has to wake you up in human world too. But once we get this seal on you, and we get them to hold off burying you, then we can worry about that stuff."

"Oh, ok. I guess it is kind of cool to see the Old Man and Yondaime though. I don't suppose I can see Haku or Zabuza huh?"

"No Naruto, both of them were human and passed on beyond Spirit World. However, I found your file here before I went to pick you up. I saw the note about them and I figured you would want to know what happened after they died. I asked one of my other Pilot friends and asked about what happened after their death. The report read something like this: Spirit Zabuza initially tried to flirt with Pilot Hana, but was slapped for his efforts and stopped once he realized the nature of what type of being he was flirting with. Haku was respectful, but watched his master's antics and laughed quietly. Each chose to stay for their small service, both wanting to see your reaction to their lives. Afterwards, Zabuza made a comment about 'the hyperactive brat being an idiot for leaving my awesome sword there', but he also said that he 'was happy that he a burial rather than being left to the crows.' Haku was proud of your proclamation of your new 'nindo' and stated that he wished 'the two of you could have become better friends, but I am glad that he is following the path to true strength.' I would wager that you will meet them sometime on the other side later though, right Naruto?"

"You better believe it! There is no way I can quit going back to living now!"

"Oh, so he is getting the same deal as I got? Man that was a long time ago… good times… I miss having Keiko and Kuwabara around. But I guess that is one of the drawbacks of being part demon."

"What are you talking about? I heard you talk about being part demon, but I thought you just said that it made you tougher."

"Naruto, awakening the demon blood in my body gave me some of the attributes of my demonic heritage. In my case, my demon 'father' was able to live hundreds of years without eating anything at all, much less whenever he was actually eating. I still don't know how old he could have been, but it was surely thousands of years longer than I have been around, and I have lived through a couple of millennia myself. Yes, it made me strong as hell, but it also made me outlive every last friend I had. Eventually I came here to work, but that… is a story for another time."

"Man, that's kinda sad."

"Heh, well that is life sometimes kid. I want to do their memory right and do my job as I know they would want me to. Saving the world was a pastime of our little group of friends and I think that they would want me to continue like we would have if they were still there."

Botan interjected in the conversation, "Naruto, it is night time in Konoha. It is time to go."

"Ok Botan-chan."

--

The flight back to Earth wasn't nearly as talkative as the ride out was. As they neared Earth, Botan finally spoke up. "Do you know who you are going to talk to? If you do not delay your burial, then you will not be able to be brought back."

"Yeah. Sakura-chan, Tsunade baa-chan, Kakashi-sensei, and Sasuke-teme. I would get Neji since his eyes are so good and could show the proof, but he is hurt from the mission."

"Are you sure Naruto? If they don't believe your message then this is all for nothing."

"Don't worry! I got it covered."

--

(In Sasuke's dream)

Sasuke hated his Sharingan. It perfectly recorded every last second of Naruto's death and his conscious had set his dreams on "Tsukiyomi" mode and was repeating the last blow of the fight over and over again. His worst nightmare was inescapable since the true technique fooled your mind into experiencing the pain, but this pain was real, and there was no technique to dispel.

After what seemed to be the 4500th time, something new happened. While there was still the image of him killing his teammate, another Naruto appeared. The nightmare stopped and Sasuke seemed to fall out of place in the dream, as if time within the nightmare sequence had stopped. The out of place Naruto walked up to him and started talking.

"You know I realize that you disliked me and wanted that new Sharingan badly, but dreaming about my death after I am gone is ridiculous."

"This isn't a dream, it is a nightmare. I hate every second of it, and I regret everything you see here. And I never hated you Naruto or anything about you. Except for the orange suit you wear. I think everyone hated that."

"HEY! I love the orange. You think you are so much… wait… I have something to tell you, so quit distracting me!"

Sigh "Alright Naruto. What is it? Come to gloat about something or something else stupid before this nightmare continues? Just say your piece and leave. The dead haunting their killers is only for stories."

"Well I am gonna come back to life, so you had better stop my funeral! Then I can kick your ass fair and square! I have this deal with the guys on the other side, so I have to come back to life. That way I can change your nightmare from me dying, to you getting beaten in front of everyone and learning what humiliation is all about."

"You are coming back? What are you telling me for? I killed you. I can't even get out of my cell, much less stop your service."

"Just TRY dammit. If my body hasn't been proven that it is still alive, then they can bury me then."

"Whatever Naruto. When I wake up, I will tell the guards, but don't expect anything."

"Well maybe this will help you wake up!" Sasuke turned back just in time to see the fist hit his face.

Sasuke woke up. He rolled over and yelled for a guard. The late night guard slowly walked up. "What?"

"I would like for you to check Naruto's body and check for signs of life. I believe…"

"What you believe does not matter anymore. The boy's service will be held at 2 and you will die at three. Delaying tactics aren't going to prolong your life."

"I am not trying to delay my death; I am just trying to find out if he is really…"

"Kid, the body was checked. There is no life. Period. Now leave it alone."

--

(Sakura's dream)

There was a small pink haired girl crying in the corner of a plain white room. A reverse copy watched with contempt. When Naruto popped into the room, he wasn't even given a chance. Alter Sakura screamed, "Fake!!" Then she proceeded to hit him and he was thrown from the dream world.

(Kakashi's dream)

Kakashi was standing at the Team 7 training grounds. Sensei was there laughing at Rin & Obito's antics and he was smiling behind his mask. His team was rough housing in the usual manner, with Sasuke antagonizing Naruto, who would try to retaliate and would get stomped flat by Sakura. Suddenly, a new Naruto appeared with a small pop in the area. The ground's occupants turned and looked.

"Kakashi-sensei! Hey, you got to delay my service a couple of days. I am not dead yet. I am coming back!"

"Of course you aren't dead Naruto. You are right there." Kakashi pointed to his team who were watching with interest.

"I am not talking about your fantasy team here; I am talking about the _real_ me! The one that died fighting Sasuke! Get your head out of the clouds!"

Kakashi woke. Looking around at his apartment, he saw his calendar with the appointment for his student's service on it. He shrugged and rolled back over. It had been a good dream anyway.

--

(Tsunade's dream)

Dan, Nawaki, and Naruto were all laughing together. The 3 men she loved more than anything in life were all here in one place. Her lover, brother, and surrogate son were all alive. They weren't dead and it wasn't her fault.

Suddenly Naruto shook his head for a minute and looked around at her.

"Baa-chan?"

"What is it brat?"

"Did you check my body? Or did someone else? I need you to check the cells and the body themselves, not just have a doctor scan for my body producing chakra. I may still be working. Can you make sure? Please? And if you find any sign of life at all… a single heartbeat, warm skin, anything… please delay the service. I need a couple of days of doubt. I promised I would make Hokage right? Believe in me, at least once more ok?"

Tsunade knew this was a dream. She knew that no one could have survived the blow Naruto received. There was no way… no way for a kid to learn an incredibly hard technique within a week? No way for a kid to pull her from the edge of the abyss of gambling and drinking her life away? No way that an idiot could match the opponents Naruto had faced?

"Okay Naruto. I will check."

--

(Meanwhile, in the rest of the world)

Shikamaru wasn't sleeping. He wasn't watching clouds either. All of those who knew him would have been shocked by both statements. But what he was doing would have made them attack him, absolutely convinced that he was a fake. He was training. It was incredibly late, and he knew that he would be expected to sleep the whole day (minus the funeral) anyway, so going to bed wasn't a problem. He wasn't going to let another mission go wrong. There would never be another incident like what happened with Naruto on his team ever again.

--

Ino dreamt fitfully. It wasn't unusual for an untrained Yamanaka to suffer the emotions of others after a death. It was expected. Some claimed to even be able to feel the emotions and thoughts of someone who had died, should the person and the Yamanaka be close, and if their death was recent. But this night was different. Ino and Naruto never interacted on a level to make them ultra friendly, he was unique enough for her to be able to determine him being present. It was an unmistakable golden shimmer around him. And while she wasn't awake or aware to notice, that shimmer was felt in town by her family's mental techniques. So while her father watched her sleeping, he heard a soft, "Naruto," before Ino rolled over again and resumed her fitful, but silent, slumber.

--

Hinata was crying. When Naruto had been brought into the hospital, rage at those people who had done this to him was all she could feel. But when she was out of their presence in her room, the weight of the situation came down upon her. Her first love was dead by his own friend's hands. Her support and will to better herself was dead. And so she cried, wishing she would wake up from whatever nightmare she had fallen into.

--

Princess Koyuki was not happy at being awoken. Yes there was an urgent message from Konoha, but still it could have… no… it couldn't have… it was impossible…

But staring up at her from the message was a truth that she had once thought was going to happen, but now refused to believe. There was no way…

She looked up at the messenger. "I am leaving for Konoha. Immediately. Wake whoever needs to come, or come if you want. But I will be gone before the hour tolls."

--

(A/N):

It has been a while, eh? Oops. Oh well. I know where this thing is going, so it isn't writer's block. It is merely finding the time to sit down a type it out. I am incredibly slow at coming up with how I want stuff phrased and I revise stuff every once and a while.


	6. Another Fox Demon In Spirit World!

Rei Tantei Naruto Uzumaki

General AU to the VotE fight where Naruto dies. I'm borrowing from the Naruto, and Yu Yu Hakusho verse definitely, maybe a few others later if I feel like it.

(A/N): I own nothing. Not even the computer I am writing this on. I claim to own nothing and you will not get anything from a lawsuit so just leave me alone please.

Also, I know NO Japanese so if I mistranslate, then calmly send me a review with corrections. If I leave it as the English spelling that means that I don't know how to spell it. Either send me an accurate spelling or get off my case. While I would love to learn Japanese, I am not very good with languages and I do not have time to learn since I am in college. Cry about it.

Ok so hopefully everyone knows that my computer got trashed and now I am having to recover from months of not having my information, ideas about what I was going to write, and preexisting writing. I got about 2 paragraphs into this fic before my computer died so from here on out I am hopefully back in the swing of things.

(End A/N)

---------

(Previously- We see the private reactions of people and Naruto visits the dreams of those close to him and while he fails to get his teammates to believe the truth behind his potential return, there is a single ray of hope…)

---

Tsunade roused herself from her bed in the Hokage residence and set about getting herself presentable, at least for a while. Wondering around the Hokage tower and the shinobi hospital's morgue in nothing but a robe may have been something from a mix of Jiraya's and Orochimaru's night dreams (Tsunade could see Jiraiya imagining her in quite a bit less than a robe in the tower, but only Orochimaru's sick mind could dream of stuff, sexual or not, occurring in a morgue.), but it was not going to be something she was going to actively try to do.

Last night was quite a night for the local bar owners. While Tsunade had gotten better about drinking after her return to assume the mantle of Hokage, Tsunade was still a frequent of the bars around Konoha, but last night was a throwback to the bad old days and worse. It hadn't been even a month before the necklace's curse had gotten someone this time. Tsunade's misery had followed tradition attracted company, though if she had been sober, the Fifth Hokage would have been duly surprised to see Umino Iruka getting plastered on the chair next to her. The Academy instructor was known for his patience and moderation, but was clearly pulling no punches tonight. While both were aware of each other's presence, neither of them greeted or showed any sign of acknowledgement to the other; they merely sipped away at the clear liquid that would disable their mind from remembering the pain for as long as possible.

Shinobi around her in the tower moved out of the way as she moved through the halls. The office workers knew of her friendliness to the young boy, her quick temper, and the high likelihood of her using alcohol to help. The next few weeks would probably be a good time to stay in Tsunade's good graces.

Tsunade made her way down to the morgue.

---

Ino expected a moderate amount of business today.

A light day usually happened when a lot of teams were gone on missions, followed by a busy day the day or two after teams got back. Working a flower shop in a ninja or military town kinda got depressing if you got to think about it. This happened to be why Ino focused on romantic endeavors so much, because thinking about love (or love lost) was a great way to avoid thinking about the fact that almost to over half of the people who came into her shop were buying for condolences.

A few of the people came in to buy 'get well' flowers for family members, like the Hyuuga branch, Inuzuka, and Akimichi.

But it was odd to see so many people buying for Naruto, or well… people she suspected of being Naruto. The people of Ichiraku's ramen stand had stopped in early in the morning to place an order and when asked who it was for the only answer was "our best customer and our friend" and left before she could inquire further. Sudachi flowers?(1) Why on earth had that been the choice?

Before she could ponder this, her former teacher Iruka had come in looking like hell and dressed in the most black she had ever seen anyone dressed in. He stank to high heaven and ordered orange daisies of all things for his "favorite student." When she had to ask him louder a second time who they were for, since he didn't appear to hear her the first time, he covered his ears, mumbled something about his head hurting, then ran out of the store crying about how he wasn't hurt 'that badly' and 'how "he" had it worse before he went.'

The ambiguity got worse through the day as only Gaara and Tenten had actually mentioned the guy by name, Gaara in his usual monotone and Tenten had read the order from a note from Neji. It was almost like they had a special name or title for Naruto that never required them to say his name.

Ino hoped that someone would help her get her mind off the situation that the flowers she was arranging kept reminding her of.

---

Naruto, however, was having a _wonderful_ time exploring Reikai while the old guys argued over the new seal. Yusuke had rested up and went back to fight Kyuubi a few times but every time he was rested enough, he would sneak attack Naruto no matter where he was in the city and mock fight the kid. Sure he wasn't trying to hurt Naruto, but he always got a couple of semi-hard hits in on the kid. But the infuriating thing about it wasn't getting hit; it was like he _always_ knew where Naruto was hiding. Except the one time.

(_Flashback_)

Naruto had snuck away when he heard from one of the ogres that Yusuke was awake and looking for him (little did he know that everyone in the Reikai office was in on the game and would give Naruto a slight lead before telling Yusuke where he went) and was currently concentrating hard on hiding in a potted plant outside King Yama's throne room when Yusuke snuck by. It surprised Naruto that he hadn't pounced on him even in the plant, but he recovered quickly. Just as Yusuke had passed by he heard a voice from further down the hall.

"Hello Yusuke," said a mild mannered voice.

"Hey Kurama, have you seen a preteen loser in orange run by you?"

"No I am afraid that no one has been by me down this hallway Yusuke. Is there something wrong? I have a feeling that you are not chasing a criminal."

"No, I just have to give the brat his play beating before I go to try to beat this stupid fox back… no offense meant to you of course. Are you sure that you cannot help?"

"I could not fight against a kitsune of that strength. If I fought a fellow kitsune that was that much more powerful than me without it being a case of training, then I would be seen as mad or crazy by my kin and they would try to have me put down. Kistune do not tolerate stupidity amongst their ranks."

"Well alright then Kurama. Wish me luck and if you see that kid, send him in my direction so I can continue to train him. I think he thinks I like beating him, but I see a fellow street fighter spirit in him and I figure that I can't let that spirit waste away. It is funny to see the look on his face after I find him by following his spiritual signature because he doesn't know that it is possible to do. Ja ne Kurama."

While Naruto heard Yusuke run off further down the hall, he heard nothing from the 'Kurama' guy. Either way he figured it was safe to leave his hiding place and run the direction opposite Yusuke went. That was until the plant he was hiding in wrapped around his ankles, and wrapped around his arms and torso until he couldn't move his arms. He was shoved outside of the plant and in front of a man covered with white. He had purplish hair, fox ears, and a single fox tail.(2) He also looked pissed, until he got a look at who was caught in the plant.

"I would assume that you are the human that Yusuke was looking for. Why do you smell like fox, but are human? I thought you were a fox spying on me for a moment, and nearly tore you apart."

"Wow did you have a fox demon sealed into you too?"

"… You said sealed into you? Are you saying that you held one of my kin captive?"

"Well Kyuubi attacked our village and the Hokage had to do something…"

"Kyuubi? Are you telling me that your Hokage, a mere human, sealed away the great Nine-Tailed Fox _Demon __**LORD**_? And sealed said demon into you? And you LIVED… well at least until now?"

"Well yeah. I mean doesn't that happen a lot? Yondiame didn't seem to have much trouble…"

"BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!"

Naruto could only look on in confusion as Kurama laughed until he was leaning on the wall for support and then as he slid down the wall to a sitting position, still laughing.

(Flashback end)

---

"Hm… I never thought I would see this day."

Kurama, once he had calmed down, was a very patient and collected person, and a veritable wealth of information without being irritable like his teachers on Earth had been.

He was also prone to fits of quiet laughter.

"Why is Kyuubi getting sealed (*laughter from Kurama*) so funny to you? I mean it wasn't real fun for me."

"Because he is the most powerful demon… probably ever, and no human other than Yusuke Urameshi has beaten a demon lord. Yusuke, however has demon blood and was once King of Demon Realm once his human life ended, so most demons do not consider it a defeat from human hands. They see him as one of them, and to be frank they are mostly correct. However, the thought that the most powerful demon was defeated by a human in battle and was held back by the unconscious use of a baby's spiritual energy is hilarious. It would be as if your Hokage was beaten by an ant and held captive by a baby ant. It is ridiculous and would absolutely ruin his reputation amongst demonkind."

"Yeah we _rule_! Make sure you tell everyone to not mess with…"

*SLAM.*

"NEVER tell another demon about this. It will get you killed."

"What why?"

"Upstart demons looking to say that they are the most powerful beings in existence would hunt you down. If anyone found out, there would be demons hunting you everywhere. Here, Earth… nowhere would be safe for you. Become stronger than Yusuke Urameshi, then you can brag. Become stronger than Kyuubi and you won't have to."

"Huh, ok!" It made sense to Naruto. "Wait, what about the people around here who know? There is no way you can keep this many people quiet about something this huge."

"All beings that work in Yama or Koenma's office sign demonic contracts forbidding them from revealing anything that happens at work. And any demon's word is as binding as his flesh."

"I guess only demons really know that. Even though everyone back home thought I was a demon, they would never really believe that I would do whatever I promised them. HEY! Speaking of things only demons know, how does Yusuke keep finding me? I heard him say he followed my spirit signature, so how does that happen? Or is it like a demon secret? Are you guys like part of a secret club? Is there a special handshake? I want…"

*BAM*

"Ouch…"

"Naruto you really need to learn how to control your mouth. People are a lot more helpful if you don't bother them with constant questions. Instead, ask one question and listen to the answer. That way it looks like you are being respectful and they will be more likely to do things for you."

"Hm, so if it's like a line at a store? People can go through one at a time, because the clerk can't help them all and everyone running by at once is rude and stealing and stuff, right?"

"That is a rather simple explanation, but yes I guess that would work."

"So you're calling me stupid because I had a stupid question and a stupider answer huh? How was I supposed to know that? Everyone gives me a hard time when I ask questions because they say that my questions are stupid, so I try to get as many questions out there so at least one sounds smart enough for them to answer."

"Naruto, there is honestly no such thing as a stupid question. Anyone who tells you that is just being mean to you, or is stupid themselves. If you want to ask me questions then I would be happy to answer them, with a couple of conditions; you must ask nicely, I actually have to know the answer, and I may not answer the question if I think it is private. Is that ok with you Naruto?"

Naruto looked up at him with a genuine smile and quietly said, "Deal Kurama."

---

Naruto quickly grew to be close friends with Kurama. He was patient, kind, smart, and could explain things in a way that Naruto could understand easily.

When asked why he was so good at teaching things, Kurama replied, "I was able to teach things to Yusuke. Teaching you is a rather simple thing compared to teaching him. Both of you have the same attitude and learning style, but he always made things exponentially difficult to teach because he never started to do things that would better himself until you had pushed him practically to the point of your own sanity. You are like a baby bird that flaps his wings every day until he is ready to jump out of the nest and fly. Yusuke on the other hand was like a baby bird that you had to push out of the nest to get flying, but once he started something he had that same bull-headed 'I will do it' attitude that you do."

As Naruto began to get a self satisfied smirk, Kurama promptly added, "At the same time though, you both have almost zero attention span. You want to get away from Yusuke right? He will keep finding you unless you are willing to keep hiding in bushes that are charged with my spirit energy."

Naruto lost the smile.

"There are many ways you can hide from people who can track your spiritual sense. Yusuke and I had a friend long ago who could fight in the complete dark with his spiritual awareness. The clone technique you told me that you use? It would be completely useless against him. He could feel your energy no matter how perfectly cloned you look on the outside and find the real you amongst the clones no matter what you did. Each person is different, in the way they act, look, think, and thousands of other ways. Your spirit reflects this uniqueness just like a mirror does. Anyone who can see spirits or tell them apart by 'feeling' the differences in a spirit will remember you just as much as if they had seen you face to face."

"So how do I hide from that? When I had chakra I could use jutsu to blend in, and I think that some people even learned how to become invisible!"

"I was just about to say that actually Naruto. The main purpose of hiding is not being found. The ways to hide are to put something in the way between what is trying to find you or to look like something that is not what that person is looking for. Let's say when you get back to your world, you have to hide under a fallen tree log. None of the ninja can see you right? But trees don't have chakra, so all they have to do is feel the chakra you let out to find you. So you have to learn to let no chakra escape you. Or what if you have to sneak into another village? You change how you look to sneak in. Ninja can see you, but you dressed like a civilian and you have chakra. They know you are a fake. You have to be able to hide the parts of you that are different from what you are trying to hide in. If you are trying to hide in a crowd of civilians, you have to dress like a civilian and walk like a civilian and talk like one _and_ not have chakra. BUT if you have to pretend to be a ninja and you run around hiding your chakra, they are going to figure that something isn't right."

"So how do I do that? C'mon just tell me how to hide my energy! I can figure the rest out Kurama-san."

"Hmm… well I suppose that practical won't hurt. Make sure to listen to me as you do it though. I will call out tips and you won't want to miss them. Now, we are going to practice with your spirit energy since you have no body to use chakra with, but the technique will work on chakra too, once you return to your body. Feel your energy inside you. I have heard from Yusuke that you have quite a bit of energy based on how powerful your Spirit Gun is, but that will actually work against you here. Hiding the energy in your body is like hiding a flame at night time. It's very easy to hide a match, but very hard to hide a full moon. And you are like the moon my friend. Your spirit flows freely out of your body the more you have in an attempt to not merely overflow the body. What I need you to do is get all of the energy that is flowing out of you, and stop it from flowing out of you. This will probably be very hard to do after a while. The more you try to keep it in, the more of it there will be trying to get out."

Naruto scrunched up his face as he tried to pull his power back to him. It was like trying to grab soap bubbles off the top of the water in your bath tub. As soon as you moved the hand to stop bubbles from moving in one area, more bubbles would escape from the area your hand was just located. And all the while the running water was stirring up the soap to make more bubbles.

"Relax." Kurama said. "Letting a little escape is no big deal. Mostly you will only be hiding for a few minutes before the people looking for you will pass your hiding spot so that you can run away again. Practice holding it in for 10 seconds then let it out. Work the amount of time up from there. Just remember all you have to do is try to look as normal as possible to everything and everyone. If you hide in a bush, make sure all of the leaves are from the same bush and not from mixed bushes and make sure you don't have any chakra showing. If you go to a ninja battlefield where there is a lot of chakra hanging around from jutsu that were recently used and cover yourself with dirt, make sure to release the same amount of chakra into the air as there is around you. Become part of your surroundings in every way, not just the visual ones."

"So how did Yusuke not find me when you and I met? I had no idea about any of this stuff yet, much less be able to do it!"

Kurama laughed. "Oh that's easy. I told you that I thought you were someone trying to attack me right? When I felt you hiding in the bush, I used my spirit energy to take control of the plant and grab you. When Yusuke walked by, my energy was covering yours up and he couldn't tell you were there."

"I still can't believe you can control plants! It's so cool! I mean I think the First Hokage was the only person to ever do that that I've ever hear of and now you can too! Oh man, if I could do that then no one I could totally kick ass! Hell! I live in a damn forest! Nobody could ever beat me again!"

*WHAM.*

"Why don't you just keep practicing this for now? I am sure that when Yusuke gets back he will want to find you again. And I also heard that they are close to finishing the seal, which means that Yusuke will be free to… well I suppose that HE calls it training doesn't he? I am sure he will be able to "train" with you as much as he wants.

Naruto paled and suddenly felt that maybe being Dead WAS a bad thing.

---

Tsunade stared. She couldn't help it. She ran to the door to check the list of people who came into the morgue since the body was placed and when she found that no one had been in the room since Naruto had been dropped off, she immediately sent a single clone to the nearest guard in the building. When her clone informed her that the guards had seen no one in this section of the building all day, she literally could not comprehend what this could mean.

In the wreckage of the center of Naruto's slashed up jacket, the holes that were killing blows on his young body were no longer there.

---

(1) Sudachi is the name of a citrus plant that is the official flower of the Tokushima providence in Japan. One of the municipalities in that providence is called Naruto, named after the Naruto whirlpools nearby. Note: the name 'Naruto' has two meanings (because of different alphabets in Japanese): it can mean a ramen topping or in the other alphabet it means 'maelstrom.' Fitting don't you thing? He loves ramen and his second signature move deals with a swirling attack.

(2) This is what Yoko Kurama's look from the series. I decided that Kurama's human body had gotten old, but that he continued his life in his demon form body. This is obviously not the somewhat evil guy that was Yoko Kurama, this is just regular old Kurama with his old look back.

This is a Naruto centric story (unlike the canon which seems to be a worship of the various Uchiha and ultra omega enemies that Naruto has to face) but the side stories to Konoha or other places in the elemental countries is mostly random, with a few day to day stories that I think fit what people in Naruto's world would do. Don't take this as a hint to relationships. If or when I decide to have romance, it will be quite clear. This will mostly be an action story, but it will have a lot of mushy sweet scenes in there that I will give you guys as a treat.


	7. GOTCHA! Almost

Rei Tantei Naruto Uzumaki

(A/N): I own nothing. Not even the computer I am writing this on. I claim to own nothing and you will not get anything from a lawsuit so just leave me alone please.

Also, I know NO Japanese so if I mistranslate, then calmly send me a review with corrections. If I leave it as the English spelling that means that I don't know how to spell it. Either send me an accurate spelling or get off my case. While I would love to learn Japanese, I am not very good with languages and I do not have time to learn since I am in college. Cry about it.

Wow… I got lots of reviews. Sorry I haven't answered them up until now, but I just now found the place to do so on the author's site… I know, it's a fail, but FFnet is confusing sometimes. Either way, here is another chapter for you guys to enjoy.

---

(Previously)

Tsunade stared. She couldn't help it. She ran to the door to check the list of people who came into the morgue since the body was placed and when she found that no one had been in the room since Naruto had been dropped off, she immediately sent a single clone to the nearest guard in the building. When her clone informed her that the guards had seen no one in this section of the building all day, she literally could not comprehend what this could mean.

In the wreckage of the center of Naruto's slashed up jacket, the holes that were killing blows on his young body were no longer there.

---

GOTCHA! ... Almost.

---

Jiraiya hadn't felt this bad since the day Minato died… of course thinking back to that made him think about Naruto being born, which brought his morbid thoughts full circle back to Naruto's death. He liked to think of himself as a fair, considerate, and generally kind man. Of course he also considered himself to be the penultimate ladies man, having heard stories as a kid of the writer ninja named Casanova from Boot Country(1), but that wasn't anything to think about now.

But right now, he dreamed of killing Uchiha Sasuke more than anything. More than killing Orochimaru. More than… well, _almost_ as much as seeing Tsunade's boobs. But even as he wanted to kill the kid, he knew Naruto would have never stood for it… if he was still alive.

Jiraiya cursed out loud. Even when he was dead that brat made his head spin in circles from the chaos the boy created.

---

Uchiha Madara looked over the destroyed Valley of the End. Fortunately, his mask was on and concealed the frown on his face. There was not enough energy from the Kyuubi here to seal. The statue wouldn't work if the nine tails' power wasn't added to it. Damn Namikaze and his seal. How on earth had he managed to completely send the Kyuubi to the other side of death? Madara could tell that the seal had not simply released the demon back to its demonic home otherwise he would have been able to summon it like he had on that fateful October night. **DAMN** that man! He would have to do some massive alterations to compensate for this amount of youki lost. Minor demons wouldn't be able to match a demon lord's power, not unless there were a few thousand of them in one spot…

Well now… THAT was a thought.

---

Koenma, Sarutobi Hiruzen, and Namikaze Minato looked over the table.

"Well…"

"Yeah…"

"Gentlemen, I think that we have it finished. Are there any objections from you two?"

"I can only wonder if this will react badly with my original seal when he returns to Earth. If so then we have only dealt with half of the problem…"

"I cannot say I would be glad if Kyuubi was out of Spirit World, but we can only hope that he is as strong as ever. You do realize that this will burden him even further correct? When his spirit energy is low, the Kyuubi will gain more predominance in his psyche. He could lose himself forever to the beast."

"That was part of my original seal too if you will remember Koenma sir. Now though, the fail-safes are broken and he will not have the extra protections he originally had. We have to bet everything on him now."

"I believe in Naruto. I watched him grow up and I can say that if there is anyone who could do this, it would be that boy."

"I sure hope you two know what you are talking about. For your village's sake. OGRE!!!"

"Yes Koenma sir?"

"Bring Uzumaki Naruto to me immediately."

"Right away sir."

---

Naruto and Kurama were having a good time. Well, Naruto was, but with the almost constant look on Kurama's face it was rather hard to tell. He had this small smile except when he got serious about something and then got this bland look about him. How could you tell how someone was feeling if they only had 2 facial expressions?

They had figured out that Naruto was a veritable ocean of energy and suppressing that for even short periods of time was impossible for now, so Kurama suggested to suppress a fraction of the energy for as long as possible, which worked infinitely better. Kurama hinted that it was possible, once he learned how to completely hide himself, that he could learn how to project his energy like a ventriloquist projects sound, but that only 5 demons had mastered this technique in all of demon history.

As the two friends sat in the library (Naruto practicing the energy suppression and Kurama reading) an ogre ran into the library, and, once he spotted the pair, ran over to them.

"Kurama sir. Koenma requests Uzumaki's presence in his office immediately sir! They have finished the seal."

---

Ten years.

Kazahana Koyuki lost the most important person to her ten years ago when Dotō's forces had assaulted the daimyo's residence and murdered her father. She had only been a girl, no more than six years old when that happened. She could still remember the ash and the tears she cried on that horrendous escape on that dog sled.

But ten years of ice had melted away with a kind but almost stupidly determined blond. He had saved her, multiple times, from the enemy, from her past, and from herself. He drove her up the wall, but for the past few months she felt like there was something worthwhile to do with her life.

As the walls of Konoha came into sight of her carriage, she could not help but wonder what had happened to him. How he had died? As good of a young man as he was, the entire town must have been devastated, she was sure. As much as he said about being their Hokage, it must have been a big blow for morale to lose such a candidate.

She chuckled to herself, despite the occasion. The boy probably had half a dozen women chasing after him from the people he had saved. (2)

'If only…' she thought before she cut herself off. As she showed her passport to the guards she steeled herself so that she wouldn't fall into the same chasm she did last time. The time now was for mourning, not for the theatrics that were her past way of dealing with loss.

---

Tsunade had managed to delay the service.

And prevent the cremation of the body.

If hunter nin could dissect bodies in the wild and bring their secrets back to their home village, so could they if the bodies were buried… only they had to be more careful. As such, graveyards for shinobi were nonexistent, most being cremated to preserve the village's secrets. As Hokage and Chief Medical Officer for the village, she had enough sway to delay for at least a day with a bogus medical excuse.

'I never thought that checking for any "sign" of the demon altering him would be enough to hold off secret protecting measures. Naruto, you had better come quick brat, cause I can do nothing more.' Tsunade thought before starting up a medical jutsu. 'Let's see if I can help your body along here Naruto…'

---

"I thought it would be… I don't know… bigger I guess. Like the size of the one I used to have."

Koenma had said that he needed to actually apply the seal to the Kyuubi for it to work, so the entire group set out over the rocky terrain that surrounded the Spirit World office towards the red light in the sky on the horizon. Sarutobi was arguing ethics with Botan and Koenma, Yusuke and Kurama were chatting about one of Naruto's "lessons" with Yusuke, but Minato decided to walk with Naruto in the back of the group to try to catch up on his son's life. He felt delighted that Naruto was talking to him, and was grateful he was asking about the seal since he knew a lot about those.

"Well if you want bigger, then you can see the uncompressed drawings if you want. They are about a meter across both ways."

"Uncompressed?"

"When you compress seals, it means that all of the symbols get squished together to where they look like lines for another symbol or like the outlines on your original seal. Don't you know anything about sealing by now?"

"Of course not, it's not like my dad was around to teach me was it?" Naruto knew it was a low blow, but really, your dad practically telling you that you were an idiot? It kinda ticked him off.

Minato winced. "Ok ok, I get it. But still, I would have figured that the Old man here would have given you my old books or something in hopes of getting a second Yellow Flash or something even better. Even if he didn't tell you I was your dad."

"I can barely read. I got kicked out of lessons at the academy up until Iruka became my sensei, but by then I was two years behind. Any other obvious, glaring holes you would like to point out in my education?"

"Oh…" 'Geez, what a GREAT father-son bonding moment this is Minato! What are you going to bring up next, a lack of a girlfriend? He has my looks, so it can't be too hard for him to have a girlfriend yet…'

"So, how many girlfriends have you had?"

"None. They all learned that they weren't supposed to like me at a young age, and so when they got older… well you get the picture."

"But, you look just like me and I never had girl problems… after I realized that some of the girls that were talking to me weren't being weird, but were flirting with me like normal people. The 'flirting' that my fan girls did always felt weird. Surely it can't be that bad…"

"Alright, how's this? I am overcharged at most places because of what I am, for food and supplies. I have an ultra high metabolism so I have to eat a lot of food and a genin's paycheck can't afford the overpriced food. The cheapest food I can buy is ramen and there happens to be this wonderful shop in town where they actually DON'T overprice for me, but the low health content prevents me from getting to a normal height," Naruto had to take a breath after rushing all that out before plugging on ahead.

"All of the adults know better than to attack a shinobi, but no acknowledgement of your existence is just as bad. I turned to pranking just to force people to show that they knew I was there and make them respond to me. It's not abuse, but negligence of a human soul is just as bad for it."

"All of the kids my age demean me because I was purposefully sent out of class, which degraded my ninja skills to the worst in the Academy. Until I recently proved that I was the most powerful fighter out of all of them, I was practically laughed at for trying. Even then, I am STILL called an idiot because of my ignorance. The only attention that I see from the guys in class is them wondering what the next funny screw up that I will do is, and the only attention I get from the girls is getting yelled at or hit because I am bothering them."

Naruto took a deep breath and let out an even larger sigh, "But no, it's not so bad is it?"

Naruto kept on walking passed a stunned 4th Hokage who couldn't find anything to say.

---

Hyuuga Hinata wasn't exactly feeling good. Her long time crush had died and she had cried until there were no more tears left. All she wanted was to clean herself up and get some food and water to help her dehydrated body cope with the traumatic events she had been through. But one of her cousins from the main house just had to spout his mouth off. He was only three or so years older than her and didn't know Naruto personally, so when he made the comment that "nobody missed the loser," Hinata snapped.

One jūken strike to the throat had him gasping for air on his knees in front of half a dozen main house members and over twenty branch house members, who were all stunned into silence.

Hinata spoke into the silence, "Let me make this clear. NOBODY is to speak ill of that boy again. It is disrespectful to speak of the dead in the first place, but to mock a shinobi dead in the line of duty is worse. It puts us as no more than a common rabble holding a petty disdain for the dead. You are Hyuuga are you not? Act like one. Be civilized and respect the dead and your fallen comrades. Also, as for your comment, he was a friend of mine, so I will miss him and he was dear to Tsunade our Hokage and she will miss him. I can tell you that it would be in your best interest to never make such remarks around her, for she would do far worse than I would to you. Tsunade is a respectable member of our village and it reflects badly upon the Hyuuga to not be, in the very least, respectful to the dead if not for his sake then at least for the clan's image. Do I make myself clear?"

Almost as one, her family members around her began to nod slowly in agreement with her argument; her reasoning, not fear of her, made them agree.

From the door behind her, Hyuuga Hiashi watched his daughter walk away in deep thought.

---

As they came over the rise, Naruto's group stared out at the devastation that lay in the land where the River Styx ran from human world to the Spirit Realm. The rise in terrain had merely been the edge of the crater where earth had been tossed due to the ferocious rage the Kyuubi had been attempting to throw all over Reikai. Naruto could see a mass of red surrounded by what looked like arcs of electricity coming from several point in a dome shape around it. This, he realized, must be the other Death Pilots containing the beast. As they slowly began walking down the face of the crater, he could see bulges appear in the shield from the inside.

After the group cleared the wall and approached the shield, Koenma turned to Naruto. "Now, what you need to do is to go in and apply this anywhere on Kyuubi's body. It will sap the beast's strength and bind it to the chakra in your body like last time. The soul of the beast will have to remain here until you transfer back to your body, or it would take over your body like it would have any other soulless object. Thankfully, without the majority of the nine-tails strength, its soul cannot do much and we can let some of these pilots go back to doing their work. I will warn you Naruto, should you get into very stressful fights and call upon Kyuubi's power, the beast will have a direct connection to your mind and body… there will not be the same protections as last time to prevent your full possession, we simply couldn't include them into this seal. This is an all or nothing gamble. Should you run out of spirit energy to hold the seal in place, your life force will attempt to compensate and the Kyuubi will be given a free shot at taking complete control of your body. There is no way we could stop it from here. You alone are holding the line from here on out. Good luck."

Naruto couldn't help but gulp as the scope of the situation hit him.

Koenma turned away to look at the shield and continued, "The beast is kept at bay behind here. We need you to stick that seal anywhere on its body for it to begin working. I should warn you, if you are devoured here, the gamble will be lost. No one but you can put it on, it is part of the binding process, but Yusuke is going to accompany you into the fray to take some of the focus away from you. Just remember, there are eight and part of a ninth tail, a set of really sharp teeth, and four paws aiming for you. It does not know what our plan is, but you still need to be careful."

Naruto nodded and, not for the first time, walked towards a fight to determine destiny.

---

(A/N)

Note: Sorry if this chapter seems really emotional or dark, but I always think "darkest before the dawn" and all that.

I think that Naruto's rant to his father is exactly how it would be. Naruto has been bottling this up for years and cannot really control himself or his mouth. I would dare say that he would be blunt (like usual) and would want to finally be able to rant at the person who some of the stuff in his life went wrong for. He would be defensive about his living conditions, intelligence, and social life because they were all negatively affected by the fourth's actions. He knows that the man couldn't do anything else under the conditions, but he is just ranting because of the incorrect assumptions the 4th made and is defensive because Naruto may feel that the assumptions are what should have happened and he could do nothing about it.

(1) Casanova was from Venice, Italy. Italy is shaped like a boot, so "Boot Country." Clever? Casanova was a womanizer, gambler, and drunk… wait, was I talking about him or Jiraiya? Both were spies, both met the heads of state of the countries around them, and were well respected for their knowledge. Jiraiya for his knowledge about shinobi things while Casanova was into the occult, though his "practical" occult knowledge was actually fraudulent.

(2) I read one of the story lines either on Wiki or somewhere else saying that this was the only movie/filler that had happened before the Retrieval Mission. Haruna & Toki both happened in the fillers later, along with the Fūma clan incident and the mission that dealt with Isaribi. And of course, the Demon country mission is after the time skip. So the 'half a dozen' line hasn't happened yet. Note, though it may be apparent that she likes him, Koyuki may or may not be the ship for this. Plus, he is only 12-13 right now while she is 16-17, so there is time. Now that the "Do not start a 'Shipping War' bombardment" is out of the way, I may throw in some fluff for fun. You never know. ;)

Next Chapter is a big one. The Kyuubi encounter and more!


End file.
